Monday, September 16, 2013

Manga Mondays #165: The Princess of Tennis vol. 1 by Takeshi Konomi

Manga Mondays Meme

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 3 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

The Princess of Tennis vol. 1 by Takeshi Konomi

Summary

The exciting backdrop of high school tennis serves as the setting for the sports drama and coming-of-age story, The Prince of Tennis. From creator Takeshi Konomi, the manga depicts the on- and off-the-court adventures of Ryoma Echizen, who joins the Seishun Gakuen Middle School tennis team, known for being one of the most competitive teams in Japan. Freshmen rarely have a chance to actually play during their first year, but Ryoma's cool confidence, combined with a deadly, un-returnable "twist serve," gain him a coveted starting spot. With rigorous and extremely intense practices, the upperclassmen of the team expect the very best from themselves, and expect even more from the new members of the team. He's made the cut but can he survive the intense competition? Join Ryoma and other first year players, as they train hard, make friends, and try to find a place for themselves on the team. Also meet Ryoma's cute but chronically shy classmate, Sakuno Ryuzaki, who hopes he will notice her. Ryoma Echizen is The Prince of Tennis. He may be ready for the Seishun Gakuen tennis team, but are they ready for him?
(courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.
What a fun manga series. It's about a stellar tennis player, but will appeal to anyone who likes silly, personal drama. And I'm saying silly in a good way.

Ryoma Echizen is a tennis phenom. And boy does he know it. This volume is basically about him challenging players older than him and wiping the floor with all of them. It's all the same scenario. An older player sneers at Ryoma because he's young or he's new or because he's cocky. They challenge him, he starts playing coy, but almost immediately plays perfectly.

I can't decide what I think about Ryoma. He's really arrogant. Is arrogant the right word or is supremely self-confident better? I'm not sure. He has the swagger of a person who is very good at what he does and knows it. Should a very talented person hide his skills for the sake of appearing humble? On the other hand, there's a fine line between being open about your talent and being cocky. I'm not sure where Ryoma stands on that line.

Either way, the first volume of The Prince of Tennis is very cute. It's a good light series that so far doesn't jump down your throat with romance, which is nice. I'll keep going..